What's in the government's £500m plan to tackle child poverty?

ITV News

4 hours ago

The government has announced a new £500 million fund aimed at improving the life chances of vulnerable children facing poverty.
The money will be used to tackle issues faced by children and their families, such as school absence, mental health and criminal behaviour.
The government has described it as the "world's largest fund of its kind", but how will it be paid for, and how will it work?
What is the Better Futures Fund?
The fund announced by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves aims to help up to 200,000 children facing poverty by funding local projects that tackle things like addiction and school absence.
ITV News understands the money will be invested in "social impact bonds", a system where private investors are encouraged to put money into certain schemes and recoup their costs from the government when a particular target is met.
The announcement has also received cross-party support, with Conservative ministers saying this builds on the "Life Chances Fund" they implemented while in government - a scheme that received £70 million of funding at the time.
The scheme also bears some resemblance to the previous Labour government's "Sure Start" support, aimed similarly at early years assistance.
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown had recently called for further investment of this sort, to the tune of £1 billion. While the government is putting in half of this amount, it hopes councils, investors and philanthropists will match this.
The fund will run for ten years and be overseen by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with more operational details due to be set out in time.
What sort of projects are being invested in?
The money will be used to fund a wide variety of projects targeting specific issues facing vulnerable children.
These fall into categories like: school absence, addiction, mental health, education, and criminal activity.
The Skill Mill is one project which received funding under the Conservatives' "Life Chances Fund" - the precursor to Labour's Better Futures Fund.
The Skill Mill provides support to more than 243 young ex-offenders across eight local authorities by offering them paid real work experience, recognised qualifications, and advice.
The reconviction rate of people they have supported is just 8% compared to 63% for young offenders outside of the scheme with 11+ convictions.
The founder of The Skill Mill, David Parks, offered his backing to The Better Futures Fund, saying it represented a "real shift" in the support for to vulnerable children and their families.
"By moving the focus from inputs and activities to meaningful person-centred outcomes, we create more impact for individuals and better value for society," he said.
"At The Skill Mill, we've seen the transformation in the young people who have offended and how much they value the second chances they have been given.
"Partnering for outcomes holds the key to creating support and programmes that really work, solving some of society's biggest challenges. Everyone wins.'
How will Rachel Reeves pay for it?
The announcement comes against a backdrop of tight finances, a weak global economic picture, and a blackhole in the chancellor's budget after the government's welfare reform climbdown.
Furthermore, many MPs, as well as voters, are urging the government to lift the two-child cap on support currently in place.
Supporters of lifting this cap claim it would be the single biggest thing the government could do to lift children out of poverty, but it would come with a roughly £3.5 billion price tag.
The £500 million being invested in the Better Futures Fund is significantly cheaper, but still only half of that recommended by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Speaking on Monday, Reeves claimed previous projects of this nature have drawn in at least as much money in private investment, and they hope to achieve the same in this instance.
The chancellor hopes that, as well as this additional investment, the positive effects of this scheme will be felt for "many years to come", ultimately saving the public money in the long term.
What has the chancellor said?
Trailing the announcement, Reeves said: 'I got into politics to help children facing the toughest challenges. This fund will give hundreds of thousands of children, young people and their families a better chance. For too long, these children have been overlooked.'
Speaking on Monday from a school in Wigan, the chancellor said she could already see the impact of programmes operating but that the benefits would be felt "for many years to come" in better jobs, wages and educational attainment.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, whose department will oversee this scheme and accompanied the chancellor to make this announcement, said: 'This groundbreaking Better Futures Fund represents a major step in partnering with the impact economy, which has long played an important role in strengthening communities and driving inclusive growth.
'As part of the plan for change, we're bringing together Government, local authorities, charities, social enterprises and philanthropists to create a powerful alliance that will transform the lives of vulnerable children and young people.
'We owe them the best start in life.
'Together we will break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring those who need support most aren't left behind and have the chance to reach their potential.'